S'mores Bars & Cheesesteak-wich

I'm homebound today, no I'm not sick, I just don't have my car and it's snowing. So there's nothing else for me to do but bake.:)

S'mores Bars

1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup each white and dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups milk chocolate chunks or chips
1 ½ cups mini marshmallows

• In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt, set aside. With an electric mixer, beat butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla until fluffy, gradually stir in flour mixture. Stir in by hand marshmallows and chocolate chips. Press into a 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake in a pre-heated 375°F oven for 25 minutes. Cool before cutting into bars. Sooo gooey good with milky chai or cafe latte.

Cheesesteak-wich

3 to 3½ cups bread flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water (140°F)
1 tablespoon soft butter
12 ounces thinly sliced roast beef evenly sprinkled with 2 tablespoons Knorr seasoning or soy sauce
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
4 ounces sliced Swiss cheese
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

• In a large bowl, combine 1½ cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Mix in hot water and butter and beat with electric mixer for 2 minutes at medium speed, beat another 2 minutes at high speed. Gradually add enough flour to make soft dough. Knead for 6 minutes, transfer to an oiled container, cover and let rise for 1 hour.
• While dough is rising, cook onion in olive oil till soft, add ½ teaspoon salt. Let cool.
• Punch dough down, roll into a 14 x 10-inch rectangle on a silpat or a piece of foil. Layer roast beef, onion and cheese over center-third of dough. With sharp knife, make cuts from filling to dough edges at 1 inch interval along sides of filling. Alternating sides, fold strips at an angle across filling. Place on baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size, about 45 minutes. Brush with egg wash and bake in a pre-heated 400°F oven for 40 minutes.

Pressed Sushi

We once had a Japanese couple for lunch many years ago. The wife brought homemade oshi-zushi or pressed sushi. It was in an ordinary glass container but I can still remember how the sushi looked so perfect and beautiful, with the prawn halves all straight and not curled like mine, I wonder how she did that. Her pressed sushi was so yummy, I try to make it at home as often as possible. I love it with lots of wasabi, soy sauce and preserved ginger slices.

Pressed Sushi
rice
3 cups Japanese rice
3½ cups water
1 5-inch kelp (kombu seaweed), optional
1/3 cup vinegar
1½ teaspoons sea salt
2 tablespoons sugar

• Wash rice thoroughly, let drain for 1 hour in a sieve before cooking. Put the rice, water, and kelp in a non-stick pan or rice cooker. Remove the kelp once it starts boiling, simmer until rice is cooked, about 15 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes. Mix vinegar, salt and sugar and sprinkle evenly on the rice, fanning the rice to cool quickly (this gives the rice a glossy sheen).
• To prepare: You can use any topping for the pressed sushi like smoked salmon or ham. I always top mine with omelet, steamed asparagus and prawns. Press half of the rice on a 13 x 9 x 2 inch dish, spread wasabi, then top with toasted nori, press the rest of the rice on top of nori. Arrange the topping, cut into 2 inch pieces. Serve with wasabi and soy sauce.

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Caramel Wheat Puffs

As a child I used to eat a lot of sweet caramel rice puff balls called ampaw/ampao. I also loved the Chinese kind called lohua which is longish, empty inside, very crispy and puffy. I found bags of unsweetened rice and wheat puffs at our grocery, made caramel and formed some into balls, the rest I left loose to eat as breakfast cereal. My daughter said to just buy honey Smacks, it's the same thing although much sweeter than home made.

Caramel Wheat Puffs
6 - 7 C unsweetened wheat, rice or corn puffs
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup dark or light corn syrup
¼ cup butter
¼ teaspoon salt

• Heat all ingredients except puffs in a large pot or dutch oven until sugar melts and mixture is bubbling, stirring constantly. Add the puffs and stir to coat evenly, cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn off heat and let cool slightly. With wet hands form into balls.

TV, Movies & A Book on CD

I reserved a book, PUCCINI'S GHOSTS by Morag Joss, at the library and when I picked it up today I was given a book on CD (11 cds in all) instead of the book itself, I'm not sure how it happened. I have never tried "listening" to a book before but I took the CDs home anyway. I made another reservation for the book and will have to wait probably 3 more weeks for it. I listened to cd 1 in my car and I kinda liked it, it's not bad at all. I feel like a child having strangers tell me a bedtime story, and I will be able to continue "reading" while doing other stuff, like beading.:-)

TV shows: I haven't been watching a lot of tv lately, there aren't many interesting new sitcoms or dramas. The only shows I regularly watch are Heroes, Medium, and Law & Order SVU and the reality shows Project Runway and Top Chef. Top Chef had its finale last week and Bravo introduced another reality show, Top Design with Todd Oldham as host. There are 12 contestants, 6 men and 6 women, although I believe ALL the men are gay, including the married one with a 3 year old child. Even the tough guy who complained that he will be living with all these "girls", I think is also gay, he was eliminated on the second episode. The show is just okay, not as interesting as Project Runway, it also has some product placements but not as blatant as Top Chef. The judges seem to be uninterested and lifeless, I'll give it another week to see if something exciting happens.

Movies on DVD:
I just saw a very fascinating, funny, intelligent, entertaining, bizarre, and sad (in a way) movie, I love, love, love it: THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP by the same person who made Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which is one of my favorite movies. This is the kind of movie that you will either hate or love, there's no in between. If you don't get it you will hate it for sure. Five Brilliant Stars

HOLLYWOODLAND, a movie about the actor who played superman on TV, George Reeves. I borrowed this movie because Adrien Brody is in it. I absolutely love him (and his beak) in DUMMY and of course THE PIANIST. The movie is very good, Ben Affleck is surprisingly not bad. Four Stars